The present invention relates generally to patient care devices and, more particularly, to tablet splitting apparatus.
Modern medicines come in a variety of forms and commonly the form is that of a tablet. This can be defined generally as a small, usually soluble medicated mass that is shaped to facilitate swallowing. Typically, a tablet contains filler and an excipient substance that facilitates working it into a form suitable for swallowing by a patient.
It is well known that tablets, such as anti-depressants, antibiotics and the like, are available wherein the active ingredient is present in a particular dose, as for example, 10, 30 or 50 milligrams per tablet. In general, the manufacturing costs are not substantially impacted by the size of the dose and the costs of production for a 10 milligram (mg) tablet, for example, are about the same as those for a 50 mg tablet. Thus, pharmaceutical companies sometimes produce tablets having a dosage that is driven, at least in part, by financial considerations.
As a result, in some cases available tablet dosages differ from those prescribed by the patient""s physician and the available tablet has a dosage exceeding the patient""s needs. For example, in cases where a prescription calls for a 10 mg tablet, and only a 20 mg tablet is available, it becomes necessary to split the tablet so that the patient receives the appropriate dosage.
Typically, tablets come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and, because of the manufacturing process, often have a hard outer shell. The presence of the shell can make tablet splitting a difficult, inexact and time consuming process. As a practical matter, the patient has no effective technique for dividing the tablet into two equal parts.
The dispensing pharmacy may have a conventional device for splitting a tablet but any such known device works on a single tablet at a time and their use can result in division of a tablet into unequal portions. Further, the single splitting process is time consuming and not economically feasible for the pharmacy to perform.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have an apparatus that would facilitate the tablet splitting process. Desirably, such an apparatus would repetitively produce substantially equally divided tablets in an economically feasible manner.
According to the present invention, there is provided a manually operable tablet splitting apparatus, including a base having a frame mounted on an upper surface thereof and a disposable tablet-receiving tray, including a plurality of tablet shaped cavities for receiving and holding the tablets in position to be split. A handle is pivotally attached to the base and is movable between a tablet loading position and a tablet splitting position. The handle includes a blade for splitting the tablets into two substantially equal parts. A retractable shield is provided for covering the blade while it is in the tablet loading position, thereby reducing the likelihood of injury to an operator during operation of the apparatus. Each one of the tray cavities is adapted for receiving a tablet and for holding the received tablet in position for splitting. The tray is composed of plastic material and is disposable. A finger grip tab on the tray facilitates the installation of the tray into, and removal of the tray from the frame. A chute for loading tablets in the tray is provided. The present invention includes methods of using the tablet splitting apparatus.
The present invention affords several advantages. For example, the apparatus is efficient in use, providing a reliable technique for splitting a plurality of tablets accurately, in a single operation. Since each tablet is nested in its own shaped cavity, it is aligned for accurate splitting. In addition, the use of the disposable tray results in confinement of tablet particles within the tray cavities, thereby reducing the likelihood of contamination of the apparatus.
In summary, the tablet splitting apparatus embodying the invention, in addition to affording substantial cost savings, is inexpensive to manufacture and reliable and dependable in performance.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.